Changes

While ''shinkôsen'' carried official missions to China roughly once every other year, ''sekkôsen'' traveled to [[Fuzhou]] in the alternating years, ostensibly to bring the previous year's mission back home; however, both ''shinkôsen'' and ''sekkôsen'' also carried considerable amounts of tribute/trade goods, playing a vital role in the flow of [[silver]], herbal medicines, a variety of luxury goods, and other products, between China, Ryûkyû, and Japan.

While ''shinkôsen'' carried official missions to China roughly once every other year, ''sekkôsen'' traveled to [[Fuzhou]] in the alternating years, ostensibly to bring the previous year's mission back home; however, both ''shinkôsen'' and ''sekkôsen'' also carried considerable amounts of tribute/trade goods, playing a vital role in the flow of [[silver]], herbal medicines, a variety of luxury goods, and other products, between China, Ryûkyû, and Japan.

While the kingdom initially had no ships or shipwrights of its own, and thus simply sent envoys as guests aboard Chinese ships for the first few decades of its relationship with the [[Ming Dynasty]] (i.e. in the 1370s-1380s), Ryûkyû began receiving ships as gifts from the Ming in [[1385]]. By sometime in the 15th century, the kingdom had acquired the facilities and experts to engage in ship repair within [[Naha]]. It is not clear when Ryûkyû began constructing its own ships, though this surely took place sometime before or during the early modern period (17th-19th centuries).<ref>Yamagata Kin'ya 山形欣哉, ''Rekishi no umi wo hashiru'' 歴史の海を走る, Nôsangyoson bunka kyôkai (2004), 140.</ref>

While the kingdom initially had no ships or shipwrights of its own, and thus simply sent envoys as guests aboard Chinese ships for the first few decades of its relationship with the [[Ming Dynasty]] (i.e. in the 1370s-1380s), Ryûkyû began receiving ships as gifts from the Ming in [[1385]]. Over the next 50 years, the Ming provided Ryûkyû with some thirty ships, though according to the ''[[Rekidai Hoan|Rekidai Hôan]]'' only seven were still seaworthy as of [[1439]]. Many of these ships may have been given to Ryûkyû after serving years or even decades in the Ming navy. The Ming also provided captains, navigators, crew, and other personnel necessary for effecting the logistics and safe transport of tribute missions.<ref>Gregory Smits, ''Maritime Ryukyu'', University of Hawaii Press (2019), 65-66.</ref>

 

By sometime in the 15th century, the kingdom had acquired the facilities and experts to engage in ship repair within [[Naha]]. It is not clear when Ryûkyû began constructing its own ships, though this surely took place sometime before or during the early modern period (17th-19th centuries).<ref>Yamagata Kin'ya 山形欣哉, ''Rekishi no umi wo hashiru'' 歴史の海を走る, Nôsangyoson bunka kyôkai (2004), 140.</ref>

While the size of Japanese ships is traditionally measured in ''[[koku]]'' (a reference to the amount of cargo the ship can hold, and thus an approximation or indication of the size of the ship overall), the size of a Ryukyuan ship was typically recorded by the number of ''[[Japanese Measurements|tan]]'' wide its sails were. Ryukyuan vessels ranged widely, from those with sails three ''tan'' in width to those with sails as large as 17 or 18 ''tan''.<ref>Yamagata, ''Rekishi no umi wo hashiru'', 142.; Yamagata Kin'ya 山形欣哉, “Ushinawareta Ryûkyû-sen no mokei seisaku” 失われた琉球船の模型製作, ''Kaiyô Kokka Satsuma: Ushinawareta Ryûkyû-sen fukugen'' 海洋国家薩摩－失われた琉球船復元, Kagoshima: Shôkoshûseikan (2005), 27-51.</ref> The ''shinkôsen'' which traveled to China, and the ''kaisen'' sailed to Kagoshima were on the larger side, with sails 12 to 15 ''tan'' in width, and cargo holds roughly 1,260 ''koku'' in size.<ref>Yamagata, ''Rekishi no umi wo hashiru'', 142.</ref>

While the size of Japanese ships is traditionally measured in ''[[koku]]'' (a reference to the amount of cargo the ship can hold, and thus an approximation or indication of the size of the ship overall), the size of a Ryukyuan ship was typically recorded by the number of ''[[Japanese Measurements|tan]]'' wide its sails were. Ryukyuan vessels ranged widely, from those with sails three ''tan'' in width to those with sails as large as 17 or 18 ''tan''.<ref>Yamagata, ''Rekishi no umi wo hashiru'', 142.; Yamagata Kin'ya 山形欣哉, “Ushinawareta Ryûkyû-sen no mokei seisaku” 失われた琉球船の模型製作, ''Kaiyô Kokka Satsuma: Ushinawareta Ryûkyû-sen fukugen'' 海洋国家薩摩－失われた琉球船復元, Kagoshima: Shôkoshûseikan (2005), 27-51.</ref> The ''shinkôsen'' which traveled to China, and the ''kaisen'' sailed to Kagoshima were on the larger side, with sails 12 to 15 ''tan'' in width, and cargo holds roughly 1,260 ''koku'' in size.<ref>Yamagata, ''Rekishi no umi wo hashiru'', 142.</ref>